1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to caps for medicine containers and the like. More particularly, the invention relates to safety caps which are child-resistant.
2. Description of the Related Art
Safety caps for medicine containers, over-the-counter pharmacological products, and the like, are known. Many medicines and pills are extremely dangerous if taken in overdoses; young children have a tendency to experiment with medication, mistaking it for candy. Also, while a child who gains unauthorized access to medication may not actually ingest it, in many cases, accessed medication is wasted or unusable (e.g., poured down a sink), a needless expense to the purchaser of the medication.
One typical safety cap constitutes a two-piece design. The inner piece is threaded and engages threads on the container. The outer piece covers the inner piece and prevents easy opening of the container. An example of such a conventional safety cap can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,394,829 to Peterson, the teachings of which are incorporated by reference herein. Other known safety caps are taught by U.S. Pat. No. 5,147,053 to Friedenthal, U.S. Pat. No. 4,998,632 to Morris, Sr., U.S. Pat. No. 4,787,525 to Joyce, U.S. Pat. No. 4,337,869 to Guinle, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,794,200 to Marks, the teachings of all of which are also incorporated by reference herein.
Peterson provides a two-piece safety cap having a spring biasing member disposed in between the outer and inner pieces. The biasing member pushes the outer piece away from the inner piece and allows the outer piece to rotate freely on the container while the inner piece remains fixed and closed. In order to open the container, a person must exert a downward force on the outer piece and thereby push it into engagement with the inner piece. The outer and inner pieces are provided with tongues and grooves, respectively. When the outer piece is pushed into contact with the inner piece, the tongues on the inner surface of the outer piece lock into the grooves formed on the outer surface of the inner piece. When the tongues and grooves are locked together, the two cap pieces may be rotated together, and the medicine container may thus be opened.
Another conventional two-piece safety cap eliminates the need for a spring biasing member interposed between the outer and inner caps. The top surface of the inner cap is provided with ramped risers and the bottom surface of the outer cap is provided with downwardly projecting elements for engaging the ramped risers. Because the top surfaces of the risers are ramped, the projecting elements will slide off of the tops of the ramped risers unless the user exerts significant downward force on the outer cap, thereby squeezing the downwardly projecting elements into frictional engagement with the ramped risers. One of the sides of the riser is made substantially vertical, so that the two caps will move together in one direction (e.g., clockwise or the closing direction) but not the other direction (e.g., counterclockwise or the opening direction).
There are several drawbacks to the abovementioned safety cap. First, not only does it prevent children from obtaining unauthorized access to medication, the conventional safety cap often prevents adults from easily accessing the same medication. Many adults, especially the elderly or the infirm, have a difficult time of exerting the requisite amount of downward force on the outer cap piece to bring the two pieces into locking engagement and, simultaneously, twist the cap off of the container. Also, some adults lack the necessary coordination to perform both the downward pressing and the rotating motions at the same time. Further, the instructions for how to remove such a cap are generally printed on the cap itself; an illiterate, learning disabled, or visually impaired adult may not, absent assistance, be able to open the container.
For adults such as these, it is generally easier to request a non-safety cap when receiving a prescription from a pharmacy. However, with over-the-counter medications, such an option is not always available. Also, while a non-safety cap may be easier to open, it does not prevent children from accessing medication and either ingesting it or wasting it.
Finally, some adults simply do not like the inconvenience of having to struggle with a safety cap, especially if there are no children residing with them or having access to their medicine cabinets. However, it is not inconceivable that children may arrive into these adults' lives, either by being born or merely by visiting. If this occurs, the adults have a responsibility to change the non-safety caps on their medication to safety caps.